Kevin Boss says it was difficult to leave Giants for Raiders

William Perlman/The Star-LedgerKevin Boss left the Giants this past week, signing a four-year deal for $16 million ($8 million guaranteed) with the Oakland Raiders.

People were telling Kevin Boss to enjoy his first free-agency period.

But Boss didn’t enjoy the week that felt like a month as he waited for offers to come in and decisions to be made. He didn’t enjoy thinking about the perception fans would have if he decided to leave the Giants. And when he did make that choice, and had to fight back tears while telling Giants tight ends coach Mike Pope over the phone on the way to the airport he was leaving, he definitely wasn’t enjoying himself.

“Probably the hardest thing I’ll ever have to do in my life and the hardest decision I’ll ever have to make,” the new Oakland Raiders tight end said by phone tonight, as as he took a break from the crash course he's taking in his new playbook. "I had four of the better years of my life spent there in New York. It was extremely excruciating leaving.

“Just the way the fans have embraced me since Day One and the organization was great to me, I had an amazing time. It was hard to say goodbye.”

Boss made a trip to Oakland late last week and then returned to his Jersey home, where he mulled an offer for four years, $16 million from the Raiders. He hoped the Giants would match, but they never did.

Boss wouldn’t discuss specifics, but given his thoughts toward staying with the team that drafted him, it’s likely the Giants’ offer wasn’t close to the deal he signed with Oakland, which included $8 million guaranteed.

Like all free agents, Boss understands it’s a business. Yet he knew many others wouldn’t. That's why he can't yet bring himself to read any articles from the New York-New Jersey market about his signing with the Raiders.

“I’ve got to be honest, I was worried about that because, like I said, the fans have been really, really good to me,” said Boss, who provided the game-breaking play in Super Bowl XLII, a 45-yard catch to set up the Giants’ first touchdown. “They definitely played a role in my decision and that made it hard to leave. It was hard to say goodbye to everyone there.

As has Pope, who will be charged with instructing a corps of tight ends that is now without Boss and the retired Ben Patrick.

“Oh man, you can’t say enough about him. He’s like a father figure to me,” Boss said of the 65-year-old Pope. “He’s going to be in my life for the rest of my life. We’re going to remain close and talk all the time.

“It’s just, he’s one of the guys it’s hard to leave behind. He’s really helped me become the tight end I am today. He’s helped me with on- and off-the-field stuff. I just can’t say enough good things about him.”

Boss also had plenty of good things to say about the Raiders, their training-camp site in Napa and their offense's potential.

"I'm excited about the opportunity," he said. "Zach Miller had a lot of success here and I always felt I had the ability to be a guy that catches 60, 70 balls a season, and they have a lot of young talent out here and I'm excited to be a part of it."